Ben 10 Post-Omniverse Adventure
by Kiarthros Toveke
Summary: Ben 10 helped create the universe and has decided to go on a road trip, with one or two surprises left from Skurd. Will likely include many planets and a harem. Focus will be more on adventures; I hope. Story starts out with Rook, Ben, Ester, and Gwen. Note: Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network, not me. (Duh)
1. Setting Off on a Roadtrip

Skurd the slimebiote smacked Ben Tennyson across the face. "Rise and shine partner." Waking up, Ben countered with "In your dreams, snotbucket." Skurd turned into the head of a Nemuina(Pesky Dust) and said, "That can be arranged."

"You won't," Ben declared. "Ah my friend, but I shall!" Skurd stated while weaving around the sparkling dust that defined the species.

Ben awoke once more, this time peacefully, to his bedroom. When had that happened? Or did it at all? Ben looked down at the omnitrix, no Skurd. Ben flashed over the last couple of days. He had the incident with "The Most Delicious Game", shortly followed the next day by his attack on Maltruant, or was it the next week? "Ugh. I hate time travel!" Ben exclaimed, grasping his head with both his hands. Ben eventually gave up his plight, deciding he must have dreamed it.

Ben went about his day as usual, then it hit him as he saw his packed bag, he had decided to go to space today! The planning had taken the better part of 2 days, and today was finally the day!

As Ben arrived in his timecycle, he saw Gwen, Grandpa Max, Rook, his parents, Magister Patelliday, Molly Gunther, and... ESTER? Ben's confusion was paramount. Where was Kevin? And why was Ester here, not with her new boyfriend? Still puzzling his way through these mysteries, Ben walked up, luggage in hand. As he walked up, he noticed three suitcases next to Ester. Staring at the suitcases, Ester broke in, "Didn't think you were leaving the planet without your girlfriend did you?"

"What about..." Ben trailed off. "The Kraaho will be fine without me Ben, especially with a plumber in their midst, plus he's my cousin from my other uncle, and the plumbers will be checking in every day." Ester then picked up her bags to put aboard the ship. "You can thank me later." Gwen whispered, having snuck up behind him. Ben then promptly walked over to Rook. "Rook, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ester break up with me for Antonio?"

"I certainly do not recall the reactions I would expect to accompany from you. Including the informing of myself to these changes. I would expect countless complaints about women followed by attempts to seduce women in attempts to console yourself. Additionally, who is this Antonio character you speak of? Should I know him? Does he hold any relation to the city, San Antonio?"

"You really get off track sometimes Rook. Remember when I was forcibly starred in 'The Most Delicious Game'?" Rook's face contorted. "I am not familiar with this earth game." Ben's jaw dropped. He had only ended up in that incident because he had decided to watch the extranet that day, and Rook had loved every minute of the show. Ben immediately began to list the possibilities.

Going on this trip means I fought Maltruant, so, alternate reality, memory loss, reality alteration, or maybe it's just a dream. DREAM! Was "The Delicious Game" just a dream? Skurd. Skurd had done this, that was what he had remembered this morning. He must have made it up complete with Ben going back to bed. Skurd had managed one last joke at Ben's expense.

Sighing, Ben climbed into the ship, his timecycle following him. The ship was a plumber ship intended for long term missions. It had 5 living quarters inside it. "So why are we taking this thing?" Said Ben, referring to the ship. "Cause Kevin's not here," Gwen tartly replied. Ben, finding that answer obvious, started to rephrase his question, then stopped. No need to make her more angry, especially when he'd be spending the whole summer in a vacuum sealed vehicle with her.

After storing their stuff in their rooms, the four of them came out to say their goodbyes. Little did they know that at this moment there was a shadowy figure sneaking onboard.

As the four of them said their final goodbyes, Ester surprised Ben by hugging Grandpa Max. "Thank you so much!" "Well I couldn't really have said no to a possible future grand-daughter-in-law." "Plus, she is the ruler of an entire species that lives on Earth," Max muttered outside her earshot to Ben. "I shouldn't have to say you better bring her back in one piece."

"Of course, grandpa." Ben sighed.

Reboarding the ship, they readied themselves for takeoff. Ben tried to take the wheel, but Rook protested, "Ben, I think it is unwise to take such a hasty action that will imperil us all."

"I trust Ben." Ben was surprised to hear Ester as the speaker of these words.

"I do not think that your trust alone is enough to warrant his control of the ship, Miss Ester. Additionally, I do not believe he has the proper plumber training to do so."

"Rook is right, Ben, you're a reckless driver. Remember the time you ran into nothingness?"  
"And everything worked out fine." Ben retorted while standing up.

"Thank you Ben." Rook stated as he claimed the pilot's chair. "Hey!" Ben scowled as he looked at Rook. "Forget it, I didn't want to fly it anyway. Won't be my fault when you screw up." Ben said walking away from the consoles, Ester giggling all the while.

And off they took, lurching Ben straight into Ester. So it was going to be one of THOSE adventures.

Off they sped into the stars.


	2. The Adventure Begins

"Ah, it feels nice to be off at last." Ben sighed in his personal quarters. Ester was just across the hall in her own room. The first time he had went in there, Ester had been putting up clothes, and had rushed to hide something from Ben. He had noticed this, but was almost instantly overwhelmed by the effect of hot air and cold air colliding, knocking Ben backwards.

Shuddering as he remembered the experience, he silently vowed that he would avoid entering as much as possible. Fiddling with his omnitrix, Ben began to look through his aliens, thinking that there were a few that needed to be renamed. He had already renamed the aliens found on Anur Transyl, so were there any others to rename? Oh, The Worst. He decided he'd think about it later.

He got up, turned the dial to Rath, hoping to get anyone else, and slammed it down. The omnitrix for once did not disappoint him and gave him Pesky Dust...however, Ben felt another change within himself, the change to Rath's brain.

"Listen here omnitrix! Pesky Dust does not find this amusing! You are supposed to be less accident prone!" the Nemuina screamed in his squeaky voice. Ben, now transformed into Pesky Dust flinched. "Stupid omnitrix, giving Pesky Dust the one aspect of Rath Pesky Dust didn't want! Stupid omnitrix should have given Pesky Dust Heatblast powers!" Whoosh! Ben's hands were now on fire in his miniaturized form. "Awesome!"

Just then, the ship shook. Ben instantly headed for the bridge of the ship, fluttering as fast as he could.

"Remind me again, why did I agree to come with you?" Gwen asked while attempting to maneuver the ship. "Cause you miss me?" Ben countered jokingly. The ship rattled from another impact. "So what hit us?" Ben questioned. "Not what, who." Gwen pulled up an image of an Incursean ship. "What? Incurseans? Really? We haven't been in space more than 15 minutes!" Ben exclaimed. "A day may be short, but it's not that short," Gwen stated. "You know I mean! A day in space is nothing!" Ben retorted as the omnitrix timed out, forcing him to grab hold of the ship while Gwen swung the ship around towards the Incurseans. "Gwen? Why are we going toward the crazy frog people?" "Because Ben, they just attacked a plumber ship, besides, it's only one old ship." Ben's eyes widened as the words departed Gwen's lips. "What is going on?" Rook emerged from the entrance. "Gwen's lost her marbles!" "I fail to see how that leads to our current predicament. Are not marbles tiny round glass baubles used for sport?" "Gwen's gone crazy!" As their banter continued, the ship hurtled towards the Incursean craft.

Ben quickly scanned the room for any means to make an escape or attack on the Incursean ship. Cloaking device? Too late. Plumber suits? They'd be crushed before they could do anything. Omnitrix? Unreliable at best right now. Teleporter? Maybe. "Rook, teleport us in and take over controls." The Revonnagander's face contorted in confusion until he saw Ben rip Gwen away from the control panel and towards the teleporter on the back left side of the bridge. Quickly, Rook targeted an inside bay of the craft, which surprisingly had no defense against this maneuver. In a flash of light, the two disappeared.

Appearing inside a bay of the craft, Gwen tartly asked, "What was that for?" "Shh...we don't know where the Incurseans are. Besides, I needed backup and you and I work better together." Gwen calmed down and began to fan out. "That and you were going to crash the ship into them if I didn't get Rook driving." Ben muttered under his breath. "You say something?" Gwen asked. Right then, they heard something scuttle across the floor, then crash into something. Readying to take out the source of the commotion, Ben and Gwen closed in on the location. Gwen hiding around the corner made by several packages in a rack, Gwen's hands began to glow with mana, while Ben selected an appropriate alien for the task, but not wanting to reveal themselves just yet, did not slam it down. Ben silently let Gwen know he was ready, and the two began to pounce into view. Ben's hand stopped inches away from the omnitrix, while Gwen looked on in confusion. Ben facepalmed and exclaimed, "Aw man! Not you! Don't you have anywhere else to terrorize?"

"Who is he?" Gwen asked. "The name's Pax, and what might your name be, little girl?" Pax's upper body rose as he spoke, extending his hand for a handshake. Gwen cautiously accepted it. "Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn Tennyson."

"What are you doing here, and how can I be rid of you, Pax?" Ben said exasperatedly. "Wait, you know what? Complete this sentence. Free the..." "Terroranchula, dude!" By some freak chance, Ben remembered the name, it was the name of the alien with a grey exoskeleton, four spider legs, and Ball Weevil's natural predator.

"Why would you do that? Terror is literally part of its name!" "It can't help that it can't represent itself, so I have to!" Pax countered. "Whatever it is you two are arguing about, it sounds dangerous, so I vote we free it!" Gwen cut in. "Fine!" Ben shouted. "So where is the little terror anyway?" At that moment, six Incurseans burst through the bay doors.


	3. Meet The Frag

Ben pushed Gwen down with both of them hiding next to Pax. Gwen gave him a dirty look, intimating that she had already cloaked them with her magic. Ben quickly got up on the other side of the aisle. As he did, he spotted the caged Terroranchula.

Ben headed towards it as Gwen helped the stumbling Florauna up. As Ben headed that way Ben overheard the orders given to the Incursean soldiers. "Ben Tennyson is to be captured alive, as well as his compatriots, the order is very specific, kill any of them and you die." Ben's face contorted, what did these orders mean?

Well, the good news was they weren't trying to kill him. Plus, that meant the Incurseans weren't still in the practice of shooting down every plumbers ship they saw, it had been his intentionally.

Ben shook his head as he realized he had a task to accomplish, the freeing of the Terroranchula, as stupid as it sounded, it would be a great diversion. Getting to the cage he tried to unlock it, but to no avail, hearing an approaching Incursean, he quickly activated his omnitrix without looking at it. "Come on, give me something good," he egged the device on, hoping to not get screwed over by it.

A flash of green light later, Ball Weevil stood in his place. "Well at least I can open the door." Ben used the many unnamed items in the row in his absorbing ball, then flung it at the cage holding the Terroranchula. The cage broke open, releasing the alien creature inside, knocking down the nearby Incursean, and alerting the rest to its emergence. "Success!" squeaked Ball Weevil. As the smoke cleared, Ben realized his tactical error.

The Terroranchula was the natural predator of Ball Weevil's species, and thus, headed straight for him! "I knew it was too good to be true!" Ben shouted as he scurried away, on the now widened aisle.

Just as it occurred to Ben that he did not know where Gwen was, he heard a smacking sound as the guards, who had been chasing after the large creature, ran straight into a glowing pink wall of mana, knocking them unconscious. Moments later, the Terroranchula fell unconscious, and Gwen walked out from behind more boxes, with Pax not far behind.

"So why do they want us alive?" Gwen asked Ben. "So they can give us all the hugs we want?" Ben responded, intimating that he himself had no clue. "Funny." Gwen deadpanned. "Uh, hey! You can't just treat a living creature like that man!" Pax threw the accusatory remark at Gwen who snapped back with, "Is there a problem with a creature sleeping?!" "No, man..." "Then why are you complaining!" Gwen yelled.

Pax moved away from Gwen, clearly having been bested in the argument. Ben, now returned to human form, had a very wide smile. Gwen saw his face and asked, "Why are you smiling like that?" "No reason." he replied. "It's kinda creepy." Gwen stated, then decided to walk towards the bay doors. "Wait, why haven't we heard from Rook?" Gwen paused to ask.

"Probably because almost all Incursean ships have basic transmission interference." Ben stated offhandedly. Gwen, surprised by Ben's knowledge on the subject, questioned, "And you know this how? Plumber info?" "Spent several months as an Incursean, remember?" Ben said in a tone intimating the fact that she should know this.

Gwen blanched, she actually had forgotten, but she figured it wasn't that big a surprise given what she had spent most of her free time thinking about these days. Shrugging off these thoughts, she tried to focus back to the task at hand.

Three guards in this hallway, no helmets, one blast to each head. "Hey, leave some for me, will ya?" Ben snapped her out of her trance. "Head for the bridge, and take the ship to nearest planet?" Gwen asked for verification. "How'd you know?" Ben replied, an unspoken comment to the teamwork the two of them shared.

Luckily, Rook had put them on a bay on the same level as the bridge, making the time to traverse to their location brief. After letting Gwen take out the only two guards apparently guarding the bridge, the rest likely searching the ship for them, Ben slammed down the omnitrix readying for the inevitable fight ahead of them.

"Humungousaur? Awesome!" "Um... Ben, your tail is blue." Gwen informed him with a mark of concern in her voice. "What! Again?" Ben said. "Wait isn't that XLR8's tail?" Gwen noticed. "Wait, again?" Ben, ignoring her, questioned, "Why the tail?" Suddenly he felt his balance change as his feet also became that of a Kineceleran. "Cool, let's go!" Ben activated the door to the bridge without warning Gwen.

"Ben!" She exclaimed with a tone of exasperation. She shrugged, and charged into the fray. The sight Gwen saw was utter chaos. Ben, trying to take advantage of the attributes of his altered state, had sped across the room, only to become a giant mass flying across the room uncontrollably, stumbling and crushing one for underfoot, crashing into a wall, crushing the consoles and the two manning it, bouncing off of the wall and onto the ceiling, and down onto the remaining five frogs.

"Ugh... I don't feel so good..." Ben said, swaying back and forth, still sitting on the five Incurseans. "That's what I was trying to warn you about," Gwen retorted. Just then, a flash of green light marked the end of Ben's transformation. At that same moment, one more Incursean arrived at the bridge. Ben blanched as he saw him, not because he was unprepared, but because he recognized the Incursean.

"Bullfrag?" Ben asked, stupefied. "My name is Barga, Ben Tennyson, I am captain of this ship, I have failed a royal once, and do not anticipate to fail a royal again." the Incursean stated, readying himself for combat. "Sorry, but you won't be able to keep your promise!" Ben said, charging him. Barga began to jump, only to suddenly find himself being knocked square in the chest.

Surprise filled Barga's face. Ben had charged at him, lifting his hand to punch him, then jumped. Barga slumped to the ground, only to get right back up. "Not finished yet, huh?" Ben scoffed. "Far from it Earth child." Barga replied, executing a more direct battle approach, his fists. Ben, unable to throw punches of his own, decided to keep up the banter while dodging, "My aunt hits better than you, right, Gwen?" Ben winked as Barga was blasted from behind by his cousin.

"I've told you fifty times, it's Gwendolyn now." She stated with no real emotion behind it. "You do realize that the future you of that timeline doesn't exist because we gave Grandpa Max a birthday cake, right? The you that said you called yourself Gwendolyn in college ceased to be." Ben flippantly responded.

Gwen paused, then responded, "Unless you lied to yourself." Ben winced inwardly, he actually had a list of the lies he would possibly have to tell himself to keep his reality straight.

Shrugging off these thoughts, Ben disabled the communications inhibitor. Almost immediately, Rook's voice was heard, "Am I to assume that you have not completed your duties of arrest as is normal for you?"

"Thank you, Rook!" A long sigh was heard as the unconscious Incurseans were beamed aboard the Plumber ship, seemingly deciding their first stop in the universe, a prison.

"Where's Pax?" Gwen asked. "Who cares?" Ben responded. By the time Rook had finally gotten around to teleporting the two of them, they arrived to find Barga in cuffs. Looking at the screen, they saw the Incursean ship take off.

"Hey! They're getting away! Rook, why aren't you doing something?" Ben asked, confusion in his voice. "Because I have the culprit in my hands Ben. All accounts of the crew members indicate that the offense was on his orders, no one else was responsible for firing on our ship, thus I was required to let them go." Rook informed Ben.

"But I went through so much trouble..." Ben whined. "Sorry, Ben." Gwen said, patting him on the shoulder.

"See Rook, that's how you there there someone." Ben said. Looking up, Ben realized someone had been missing from this adventure from beginning to end.

"Where's Ester?" "I do not believe she has left her quarters." Worried, Ben headed to her quarters to check on her.


	4. Downtime with Ester

Ben walked with some haste, until he saw Ester walking around eating ice cream nonchalantly. "Uh, hey, guess you're fine?" Ben stumbled around. He really had avoided talking to her since they got on the ship, especially since he was still trying to write her running off with Antonio as a bad dream. "Why wouldn't I be?" Ester queried.

"We got attacked by Incurseans!?" Ben responded, miffed by her lack of information. "Oh, is that what those bumps were? This is a much smoother ride than the first time I was in space. What did little miss frog princess want?" Ester asked. "Nothing, she wasn't involved, strangely enough. Wait, what do you mean by the first time you were in space? Isn't THIS the first time?" Ben asked. "How do you think I got to Earth? Aliens weren't exactly commonplace until six years ago on Earth Ben, and I'm 14 years old, so how do you think I got there?" Ester asked. "Wasn't your mother human?" Ben was trying to comprehend what this meant. "She lived on the Kraaho home world with my father." Ester replied. Ben started searching for a subject change, as he had learned that Ester got moody if she was allowed to talk about her father.

"Let's sit down." Ben suggested, taking her out of the hallway and into his room. "How very forward of you Ben." Ester said jokingly. Ben blushed, realizing what Ester was implying. This also reminded him of the fact that he had been dodging her calls for a while, for fear of taking the relationship to the "next level". Both of them sitting on the edge of his bed, Ben started with, "Next time we have any problems, head to the bridge, okay?" "Okay." Ester said snuggling her head against his arm. "We're in space now, so we have to stick together, or we could lose someone in space forever." Ester's warmth on his arm was very comforting. They simply sat there that way for a while, then, without moving, Ester began to speak.

"So, I know that you marry Kai in the future, but is there any proof that you don't marry anyone else?" Ben was surprised by this question, he had never considered this. "Um...I never was told about it, I suppose it's possible..." Ben mused. "So you might have multiple wives?" Ester piped up. "Wha? You mean at the same time?" Ben stammered, floored by the idea that the most possessive of his girlfriends was suggesting that in the future he might have multiple wives. "I'm going to guess the thought never even occurred to you," Ester giggled. "I normally wouldn't accept that kind of situation, but you and I are both kinda prominent figures, plus, considering how Attea and Looma fought over you last time, it may be a good idea diplomatically." Ben could not refute that fact.

"Thank goodness I don't have to marry either of them, right?" Ben joked. "Let's just say that princess Looma wasn't about to win any beauty contests, that's for sure." Ester giggled. "I don't know, Kevin seemed to think she used to be cute, so she must've been at some point, unless his idea of cute is very different." Ben joked. Pausing, Ben then asked, "Do you know why he isn't here?" Ester quickly responded with a "Nope."

Once more, he noticed how warm she was. Ester suddenly reached for his omnitrix and began to examine his list of alien forms. "You know, I actually know less about what aliens you can become than most people, my favorite form is you after all." Ester commented. "I remember I thought you liked Ditto, it is my cutest form according to the polls." Ben stated. "Was" Ester corrected. "Huh?" Ben's confusion was evident on his face. "It WAS your cutest form, until Pesky Dust, whatever that is." Ester explained. "And you know this how?" Ben asked, surprised at this information. "It was a news clip." Ester responded. "Well, I can't say they're wrong, he is pretty cute, but also useful." Ester's eye raised at this statement.

"He allows me to put people to sleep, create whatever kind of dream I want them to have, and be able to enter other people's dreams as well." Ben explained. At the mention of the last one Ester tensed up. "Not that any of those are useful without the others." Ben continued on, not noticing. Ester couldn't help but smile as she realized Ben did not see the alien's applications outside of battle and interrogation. "So which one is he?" Ester asked, curious to see this cute, yet surprisingly powerful creature. Ben spun the dial until he reached the appropriate symbol, and keeping in mind Azmuth's comment about dexterity and not slamming it down, Ben transformed into the right alien for once. Ester's eyes widened, "Wait, so Lillimusha can enter dreams?" She asked. "Who?" Ben asked. "Lillimusha Diforestini, he lives in Undertown. I'm not sure what he does, but ML-E knows him for some reason." Ester replied.

"A Nemuina in Undertown... I know nothing about them, but Khyber was terrified of just one." Ben said shifting himself back to a human. "So you can choose any alien represented by an icon?" Ester verified. "If it's there, I should be able to turn into it in theory, but it doesn't always work, Azmuth blames me though, because I slam it down. I swear you to secrecy on that though, okay?" Ben told her. Ester laughed saying, "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone what?" came the voice of Gwen. "That Ben used Alien X to..." "Give you freckles." Ben completed. "Right..." Gwen acknowledged with a tone of disbelief. "Anyway, time to interrogate the prisoner." Gwen said nonchalantly. "Prisoner?" Ester questioned. "A rather unusual Incursean. You'll see what we mean."

The three of them walked in on Rook saying, "I have no desire to find out if that is possible." Switching to conversing with Ben, Rook stated "I have been attempting to coerce information out of him as to why he attacked our ship, but to no avail. I cannot even get his name from him. It seems to me that we may have been attacked solely because we are a plumber ship."

"Sorry Rook, but you're wrong, he attacked because I was onboard, isn't that right, Barga?" Ben said walking up to his cell. "How did you..?" Rook began to ask, but was stopped by Gwen. "So who issued this 'royal decree'? Was it Attea, or Raff who gave such an order?"

"I do not pretend to know the politics of the Incursean empire, I seek only to serve it well." Barga replied. "And therein lies your problem." Ben said. Barga gave Ben a puzzled look, but said nothing. "Come on Rook, he's too stupid to know anything." Ben stated, walking out of the room, into the hall. Gwen and Ester looked at each other confused at Ben's behavior. Rook quickly exited after Ben.

"What is this 'Royal Decree' you spoke of?" Rook questioned. "Before we were attacked by any Incurseans on the ship, I overheard their orders. They were told to capture us alive, that is me and any partners I might have. Pretty weird order for Incurseans to be given, unless the targets are also Incursean." Ben informed Rook. "Later when I fought Barga, he mentioned a royal decree that he would somehow complete if he beat me. Seemed like it might be connected, so I asked him. Turns out I was right. So next time we have a run-in with Incurseans we know what to look for."

Rook's mouth stood agape as Ben analyzed the situation. "That's good to know," Gwen's voice appeared shortly followed by her and Ester coming out of the doorway's shadowy indent. Rook and Ben had both jumped at the sound of her voice, assuming positions of abject terror." Seeing their reactions, Gwen and Ester burst into laughter, especially Ester, who was noticeably louder. After the laughter finally subsided, Ben asked, "Can we go now?"

"Where?" Gwen asked. "Mr. Smoothy's, duh." Ben replied. "Uh Ben, hate to break it to you, but we're in space." Gwen stated putting her hand on Ben's shoulder as she silently marvelled at the oversight on Ben's part. "Ester, you coming with me?" Ben asked, ignoring his cousin's statement. "Sure." Ester replied walking down the hall with Ben. Gwen looked at Rook and asked, "Are we sure Mr. Smoothy's isn't code for something else?" Rook shook his head, saying "I do not know of any code involving Mr. Smoothy's. I assume that Ben is simply addled." "Well you're not wrong there." Gwen replied, then decided to walk off in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Ben and Ester walked toward the recreation room, where the kitchen and a television with Ben's favorite gaming console were. "Sounds like they haven't been to the REC room yet." Ben commented. "Right?" Ester replied. "Boy are they in for a surprise." Ben chuckled. As the two of them walked into the recreation room, Ben's eyes immediately began to search for the door, which he found with ease and walked through it. "Thank you Blukic and Driba, for making another entrance to the 23rd Mr. Smoothy's!" Ben said happily.

"23rd?" Ester questioned. "Yeah, Blukic, Driba, and me went on a quest to find the 23rd Mr. Smoothy's, because I only knew if 22 locations, turns out it was a dimension hopping Mr. Smoothy's that was supposed to be a multidimensional Mr. Smoothy's." "What does that mean?" Ester asked for clarification. "It means…" Ben paused, seeing another version of himself. Looking at the other Ben's wrist he knew instantly which Ben it was. " …it means THIS can happen!" Ben presented his alternate self. "What?" the alternate Ben said as he turned around. "Ben? Is that you? The you you I mean, not the you." the alternate Ben tried to clarify. "Yup, it's me. Oh, this is Ester by the way, she's my..." "Girlfriend." Ester completed.

About this time, Ester gave this Ben a closer look. He was almost identical to Ben physically, but wore no Ben 10 memorabilia. Finally, she looked at his wrist, looking to see the omnitrix he wore, but there was none. "No, I don't have an omnitrix, but I know how to use one." He said, interrupting her thoughts. " I'm a plumber now! How cool is that? Their combat training is intense! Incidentally, what's the deal with this Mr. Smoothy's?" The alternate Ben asked.

"Multidimensional Mr. Smoothy's, don't worry, you'll end up in your dimension when you leave." Ben said offhandly. "What flavor did you get?" He asked. "Grape." Ben gulped as he was informed by his counterpart. "And how's it taste?" Ben's asked, fearing the answer. "Delicious as always." the alternate Ben said shortly before slurping the final remains of his smoothie. "Guess I might see you around, huh? Well, I guess I'll see you if I see you." "Yeah, this is the only Mr. Smoothy's I can go to right now, so probably so. See ya!" Ben said as he hurried to order a grape smoothie. "So how much weirder does your life get than you let on?" Ester inquired, a grin on her face. She finally was his girlfriend, not just a girl friend.

"Have you met Professor Paradox?"


	5. Travel to the Plant Planet

"I'm bored," Ben whined to Rook, "Why do we have to take Barga to a plumber base? Why can't we just, I dunno, drop him out an airlock or leave him on a planet we don't like?"

"Doing so would be against plumber regulation, not to mention highly unethical. However, I do recognize that we have yet to make landfall on any planet after 3 days in space, which was not my original plan." Rook stated.

Ben decided to start scrolling through the list of nearby inhabited planets and other various areas. Ben paused and flipped back a few as he saw a familiar alien species listed.

"Three suns orbiting a planet? Really? That's a HUGE planet." Rook, who had been watching for any nearby crafts looked over and read aloud, "Flors Verdance, home to Florauna and various other plant species and other wildlife."

Breaking from his reading, Rook started talking to Ben, "Ben, I would not advise going to this planet. Not only would it be dangerous to get there, the plumbers know very little about this planet,"

"Making this a perfect chance to change that!" Ben finished as Rook slumped back in his chair, sighing, knowing that there was no stopping him now. Just after inputting the coordinates, a pair of hands came snaking in.

"Guess who?" Came from the dark hallway behind the door. "George Washington. Or wait, was that last week?" Ben said jokingly. "That was last week." Rook deadpanned.

"Wait, what? You met George Washington without me?" came Gwen's voice.

Ben, ignoring the fact that his eyes were covered, turned around with Ester's hands still covering his eyes, and said with mock surprise, "Gwen? It was you? I knew you'd be a circus freak someday."

"Haha, very funny. So where are we headed?" Gwen asked, noting that their heading had recently changed. Ester walked into the light and removed her hands from Ben's eyes.

"Ooh...pretty girl." Ben said, continuing his foolish act. Ester blushed a bit while Gwen asked, "So why don't we wanna go there?" "Cause we don't know anything about it." Ben said in a mocking voice. "Sounds like a perfect chance." said Ester. "See, Rook? She understands." Ben said in his childlike voice.

"So what's the catch?" Gwen asked Rook. "The catch, as you call it, is that we have to pilot the ship between two suns that rotate around the planet." Rook stated.

"Sounds nice and warm." Ester said cheerfully. Rook and Gwen looked at her as if she was crazy.

"What? She can't help it if it's convenient for her!" Ben defended.

"Could it be..." Gwen started. "I find it highly unlikely, Ben is not likely to ever develop any such selfless thoughts." Rook answered Gwen's unfinished question.

A while later, they finally found themselves preparing to enter between the two of the three suns orbiting the planet. Rook, Ben, and Gwen were all strapped into their seats in preparation for the expected turbulence while Ester was finishing strapping her arms, legs, and head into her seat. "I hate having to do this." Ester said, "I'm ready now, finally."

"Engage!" shouted Ben. Gwen and Rook looked at him leerily. "What? Somebody had to do it!" Ben defended. "Not really." Gwen responded. "Whatever Gwen." Ben said pushing the conversation to the side. "Never said you could stop calling me Gwendolyn." she replied. Rook, feeling the tension rise decided that now would be the perfect moment.

"Seeing as we are prepared for entry I see no reason to wait." Rook stated, not waiting for any agreement or disagreement.

The ship quickly encountered turbulence as they entered between two of the suns. "Monitoring both suns for potential sun spots," Rook announced. "Do we really need a play-by-play account Rook?" Ben asked. "No, but I want one." Gwen stated, ending the conversation before it began. "We are entering the proximity of the suns closest points to each other." Rook's status reports continued.

The turbulence increased slightly, then without warning, stopped altogether. "That was it?" Ben asked. "I thought it would be worse!" as Ben finished his statement, the ship renewed it's turbulence far stronger than before. "Agh!" exclaimed Gwen. "Head...splitting...in...two" Ben cringed as the ship violently jostled the four of them. Finally, the turbulence passed. "Thank the plumbers that the ride was that smooth." Rook offered. "You can say that again." Ben replied. "Thank the plumbers that the ride was that smooth." Rook repeated.

"No, you don't..." Ben facepalmed then said, "You know what? Forget it?" "Forget what?" Rook asked in confusion. "That you're landing a spaceship!" Gwen shouted. "You know Gwen, that's on the list of things not to forget." Ben smartly informed her. "Hence the emphasizing it." Gwen responded.

"Ugh... I can't take all this bickering, just shut up already!" Charmcaster's voice seemed to float in the air.

"Was that...?" Ben started. "Yup, it was," Gwen answered, holding up the demented looking purse bag. Ester, very confused by this fragmented conversation inquired, "What is that?"

"You could call it a prison of sorts." Gwen responded. "More like a hell pit!" Charmcaster shouted from inside the bag.

"I can't wait till one of you has a dream about me!" she continued on.

"What, it's not like you can control us through our dreams." Ben paused and asked Gwen, "She can't do that, right?"

"Not as far as I know." Gwen responded, not reassuring Ben.

Ben's thoughts flashed back to when he had helped Charmcaster obtain the alpha rune, and how she had held discussions with the bag that had intimated a slight interest in him.

Brushing these thoughts aside, Ben focused back to the task at hand. They were now moments away from starting to land.

"I will now begin docking procedures." Rook stated. Rook, having said nothing in the previous conversation for fear of being distracted, followed through with his statement.

As they descended, they saw below them a massive planet filled with countless shades of green, and many layers of plant life. Curiously, there were no visible sources of water, the entire planet seemed to consist of land.

Rook chose a clearing to land in, and began landing procedures while everyone began to unbuckle themselves. After helping Ester unbuckle from her extra straps, Ben grabbed her and transformed into XLR8, taking off at his trademark high speeds, knocking Gwen and Rook over.

Surprisingly, Ben, as XLR8, was perfectly fine with the environment. The suns, while in orbit of the planet, were considerably further than a moon would be.

Gwen stepped out of the ship, shortly followed by Rook. "Ben, take this." Gwen tossed him a strange white cube. Ben caught the cube, only to have it liquefy instantly and absorbed into his skin.

"I didn't do it!" Ben said reflexively. "It was supposed to do that Ben." Gwen replied calmly.

"Off we go!" Ben said and charged off in a random direction, leaving Gwen and Rook behind.

"Two minutes or three?" Gwen asked. "30 seconds I predict." Rook replied.

Thirty seconds later, Ben and Ester reappeared. Ester's arms wrapped around them, and off they went, not truly knowing where they were going at all.


	6. Establishing First Contact

After a minute or so of whizzing about, Ben's watch timed out, producing the familiar green flash, turning him back into plain old Ben.

"Quick Rook! Sunscreen!" Ben yelped. "Don't worry, you'll be fine Ben. That stuff that absorbed into your skin was to protect you from the temperature difference and works as a sunscreen." Gwen replied calmly.

"Did I mention that I love magic?" Ben replied cheerily. "It is not magic Ben, it is science. The heat suppression multiplier is an important field supply for aliens with unique physical attributes." Rook stated. "English, Rook, speak it." Ben replied.

"I am. You simply have a lesser understanding of it than I." Rook calmly replied. "Gwen, care to translate?" Ben asked, looking at Gwen who was now ahead of them. "It's plumber tech for aliens really weak to heat." Gwen tossed out.

"See! Was that so hard?" Ben asked Rook. Just then Ester broke in, "Um, guys, that plant just moved."

"What? Plants don't move!" Ben exclaimed in a demeaning manner, then paused, "Oh wait, duh. Okay, they do move, sorry Ester." Ben began to take in the surroundings for the first time.

Directly in front of them was a very overgrown forest area. "Ben, I would surmise that water is in that direction, given the large increase in overgrowth." Rook stated.

"And water equals civilization!" Ben extrapolated. "Onward Rook!" he continued. Rook pulled out his proto-tool switching it to the power sword mode and began slicing through the vines.

As Rook began cutting through the vines, a yell came from above him. A strange female voice shouted, "Hey! Do you mind? I'm collecting beranthiums!" The voice reminded Ben of Gwen 10's Wildvine transformation, making him quickly realize that it was likely a Florauna speaking.

"What's a beranthium?" Ben asked, as Rook had ceased his cutting. Three vines regrew themselves as the head of a female Florauna appeared from what could arguably be called the ceiling. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were part of the forest alteration committee." spoke the head. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Alaxa, a herbalist. And you are from where?"

"I am from Revonna, and these other two are from Earth, while I am unsure of Ester's origin." Rook volunteered.

"I assume you took proper precautions against ship invasion as well?" Alaxa asked. "Part of standard plumber procedure." Rook replied. "So... Why are you here?" the Florauna asked, switching subjects. Ben began to eye her suspiciously. "Why shouldn't we be?" Ben asked. "We hardly ever see plumbers here, so there must be a reason you're here." she explained.

"We are currently just canvassing the area." Rook replied. "I was bored of space." Ben stated. "So you came here?" was her puzzled response. "Sure, I figured, why not?" Ben replied.

Alaxa gave him a quizzical look. "Excuse my partner if he has offended you." Rook started. "Offended me? No, made me concerned for your well-being? Yes." Alaxa stated. "We're still under Xarl reign. We will be for another 5 years, at least."

The group as a whole released varying looks of confusion, Gwen and Ester stared at each other hoping the other might have an answer to what this meant. Rook, after a long pause, stated, "I am sorry, I lack context for me to understand the meaning behind your declaration."

"You have three suns time to leave the planet after arrival." Alaxa informed them. "What? Why?" Ester asked. "That is their laws, after which you become a fugitive that can be detained indefinitely." The Florauna replied.

Rook began using the device on his wrist calculating something. "That gives us precisely 5 days, 4 hrs, 23 minutes and 43 seconds."

"Why are we just standing around? Let's get moving!" Ester grabbed Ben and began charging off, Rook and Gwen looking silently as the other pair left. "Well, we've lost them..." Gwen looked at Rook and Rook at her. Both shrugged and Gwen said, "We'll find them later when they've calmed down."

"I apologize for our comrades rude behavior, but could you possibly direct us to the nearest town?" Rook asked ever so politely. "Perhaps I should take you there, seeing how you might not find it otherwise. Here, this way."

Ester began to slow down, The Worst trailing behind her, attached to her arm. "Well, at least I'm indestructible." Ben stated walking up next to her. "What is that form?" Ester inquired incredulously.

"I call it The Worst." Ben responded. Ester gave him a quizzical look that indicated she thought it was a bad name. "Okay, not my finest name," he commented, "But he really is the worst! Being a punching bag is no fun!" "But you're indestructible!" Ester exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she did so.

"Doesn't mean I feel no pain, I feel every punch, every stab, ALL of it!" Ben complained. Ben's loud response seemed to have some affect on the surrounding area as multiple flowers growing on trees closed up and some mosses on the trees turned from green to orange or purple. Ben and Ester paused. With a flash of green light, Ben appeared, once more in Ester's favorite form.

"I hate you too, omnitrix." Ben said. Ester, having decided they were safe, began removing her jacket. Ben flinched, but maintained his gaze as she removed her jacket.

Ben fell over when he saw what was underneath, a purple shirt. "What? Were you expecting something else?" Ester teased Ben. The shirt was low cut with short sleeves, very simple. "It's nice not wearing a jacket here. Catch!" She said throwing the jacket for Ben to catch. Luckily, no plants caught the jacket before Ben did.

Only then did Ben realize how heavy the coat was and that the gloves were part of her jacket. "You packing lead in there?" Ben jested hinting at the heaviness of the coat."Good guess." Ester said as she began walking. Ben blanched, then began trying to catch up.

"So... Where are we going?" Ben asked. "Someplace pretty I hope." Ester responded.


	7. Dangerous Plants

Ben and Ester were having a picnic. Ben had definitely been surprised when Ester had pulled almost the entire meal from out of her coat. They had found a small opening, a flowery field where no trees grew.

"Gwen's going to kill us when we get back." Ben commented as he laid down on the blanket. "Man, I'm stuffed!" Ben stretched his arms above his head. Suddenly, he felt something very warm across his abdomen. Reaching to feel it with his arms, he realized that it was Ester, and she was sleeping.

"For future reference, yellow roses are my favorite." Gwen was saying to Rook as they walked down the street of the town, if you could call it a street. The area was lush and filled with grass, holding plants that resembled stalls that functioned as such for the merchants behind them. "I will certainly keep that in mind." Rook stated. "However, I have discovered a dilemma that needs our more immediate attention. Despite the wide array of goods presented here, there is something missing."

Gwen's eyes widened as she realized their plight. "You did bring proper scavenging equipment right?" Gwen asked. "Of course, Rook replied, but we will have to acquire it ourselves, seeing as the beings here do not need it to replenish themselves."

"That's okay, looking back, Grandpa Max was always preparing us for this day." Gwen replied. "Before we go searching for food, perhaps we should check in with our guide?" "Agreed." Rook confirmed. Their "guide", Alaxa, had told them that her dwelling was near the edge of town. So far, all the Florauna she had interacted with had been friendly, a pleasant surprise, considering she had spent years with her main encounter with Floraunas having been a near-death experience at their hands. However, shortly before arriving she had discovered the variation of individuals hailing from the planet.

Rook and Gwen traversed the town trying to discover the appropriate location they sought. As they did so, the two noticed the variety of homes Florauna lived in, some lived by caves, others in the forest, while even more lived out in a nearby field. Gwen noticed that the darker the area, the darker the disposition of the inhabitant. After a particularly dark encounter with an inhabitant who lived next to a cave.

"I can't believe that there are thousands of murderers on this planet. I really think we should find Ben and Ester and get out as quick as we can." Gwen stated with great concern in her voice. "Perhaps it was merely an elaborate ruse to trick us into being scared enough to leave this planet. I hope." Rook finished.

Meanwhile, Ben and Ester were on the move once more. Astrodactyl flew over the treetops for the fifth time searching for the possible location for his cousin's whereabouts. Giving up he landed once more, stating, "There's no sign of a town anywhere nearby, it must be somewhere in the forest." This statement was followed by a burst of green light.

"Shouldn't there be Florauna on top of the trees? They use photosynthesis for energy right?" Ester asked. "Photowhosit?" Ben asked. Ester glared at him, to which he responded by dropping his pretended ignorance. "Good point. I wonder why?" Ben postured. "Um, Ben, I think I know why." Ester said, stepping back away from him. "And why would that be?" Ben inquired. "Because that!" Ester pointed to a large alien creature about the size of a truck with four limbs with three large appendages similar to fingers, used for grasping a tree with each limb. Ben turned his head toward the direction Ester had pointed. "Run!" Ben shouted as he followed his own advice with great haste. The purple monster with the jaws of a turtle clambered down through the trees, moving at a pace much faster than the two below it. Ben, knowing a fight when he saw it, readied his omnitrix.

"Nope. Nope. Feedback, not useful here, Ballweavil, maybe? Gravattack? That's more like it!" Ben finished, slamming down the omnitrix. Ester stopped running about 15 ft away and readied herself. She wasn't sure if Ben would need her help, but she was ready. The green light flashed, and in Ben's place was Swampfire. "Swampfire? I guess it works." Ben shrugged and turned around ready to face off against the unknown creature.

Slurp! "Agh! Monster drool! Wait, what?" Ben asked. "It's a puppy!" Ester giggled. "Man, now I feel stupid. How uncool is that?" Ben said exasperatedly. While the beast continued licking him, Ben felt a sudden change within him.

"Whoa, this is...different...I can feel the others." Ben said dazedly. "You can feel Gwen and Rook?" Ester inquired. "No, the others, as in all the plant people! Come on! This way!" Ben shouted as he ran in the opposite direction from which they had been traveling. Ester, not one to be left behind, used her elasticity to overtake Ben, then slow down to match his speed.

Soon the pair found themselves at the edge of the village. As they arrived in the clearing, about eight Florauna pounced into the air to attack, and the watch timed out. "Are you kidding me?" Ben asked as the Floraunas hung in the air. Ben rolled out of the way as Ester swept six of them out of the sky. The other two swiped at his face as they landed on both sides of him. The other six now targeted Ester, attempting to surround her. Ben, now on the ground, continued trying to flee on all fours, shouting, "We come in peace, not pieces!" As the two continued swiping at him.

Unable to overcome Ester with sheer numbers, the Floraunas took advantage of the trees behind her, creating vines to attack her as well. Ester had responded with an astounding amount of elasticity, weaving herself through them toward the Florauna, then under the six, swinging at them from behind sending two of the six to unconsciousness. Ben rolled out of the way of yet another attack from his pursuers as his watch signaled that he could transform again. "It's hero time!" Ben shouted, opening the omnitrix and slamming it down. Heatblast now stood in Ben's place. The two Florauna recoiled their thorny appendages and each moved one of their tentacle legs to a nearby sturdy tree. Ben watched in dismay as the surface of the pair's skin turned into the same color bark. "Take that! Ben shouted, hurling a ball of fire at each. As the fire made contact with the two, Ben's suspicions were confirmed, the fire balls dissipated as they made contact with the Florauna. "Or not!" Ben continued his banter.

Meanwhile, Ester had been having little success with the remaining four, who now held a better grasp of their opponents capabilities. Ester had been using her elasticity to minimize the damage she took, but had only managed to stand her ground. "Ben, care to help?" Ester delivered with a jaded look, indicating her exhaustion with the ongoing situation. "Switch!" Ben shouted to Ester as he shot two balls of fire from one hand, managing to hit and knock one out with each impact. Ester used this moment to switch her opponents, and Ben followed suit. Ester's advantage increased due to the hardness of the bark covered Florauna. Ben charged at his newly appointed targets, who did their best to flee from his path in opposing directions. As he charged past them, he managed to surprise them with pillars of fire from each hand before they could reach the tree the others had. Ben turned to see how Ester was faring, and breathed a sigh of exhaustion as her arm hit one in the back of the neck. Ben watched as the alien went limp instantly, and Ben realized their weakness. "Go for the back of his neck!" He shouted. At that moment, a huge see-through pink slab of force came out of nothingness dealing the appropriate blow. The last of the aliens slipped to the ground, unconscious. "What happened?" Ben heard Gwen's voice behind him. "I dunno, they just attacked us!" Ben said throwing his hands up in the air.

"Perhaps you offended them somehow?" Rook offered. "I doubt it, the same thing happened when we were kids, except after I was captured, I was saved, so I really don't know why they did it then either." Gwen stated. "There are no plumber records of the incident of which you speak, I am certain. When did this occur?" Rook inquired. "When we were about 11? Me and him were in space because Ben had set off the self-destruct. We ran across them on Xenon." Gwen recalled. "It was the first time we met Azmuth. Which begs the question, why isn't there a plumber file on it? Hmm..." Gwen mused. "Because they're evil, duh." Ben jested. Just as Ester was about to input her insights on the matter, the four of them heard a loud rustling noise coming from the west of them. The entire group remained silent, anticipating what would emerge from the bushes. It was during these moments that the omnitrix, with its not so infinite power, timed out. Ben uttered an audible gulp.


	8. Foes in the Forest

From the bushes emerged a familiar face, Alaxa. She glanced around at the scene before her, and before any word of justification could be uttered, jumped out of the bushes. The group tensed, readying for another round of combat, but was instead met with a single word.

"Idiots." Alaxa uttered. "I told them you were my guests, not intruders." she muttered. "What do you mean?" Gwen asked, detecting that Alaxa understood the situation far better than themselves. "Why'd they attack Ben and Ester?" Gwen fired off. "They shouldn't have, that's why they're idiots. I told them that you were my guests." Alaxa stated. "So, what, they thought we were intruders so they attack us? Rather than politely ask us to leave? Doesn't that sound irrational to you?" Ben accused. Ester looked at Alaxa, took a step forward, and asked her, "You're their leader, aren't you?" A variety of shock and confusion ensued. "Wait, what?" Gwen involuntarily asked. "Really?" Ben enthusiastically queried, while Rook stood with his mouth agape. "How'd you guess that?" she asked as her underlings began to rouse. "It's all in how you stand. What? I am a princess after all!" Ester exclaimed defending herself against the three behind her. "Recognizing another leader is an important part of being a ruler."

"It seems I still have much to learn. I am the clan leader of all the people you have met, unless you two ran into others..." she stated inquiringly, looking at the two for confirmation. "Nope, just the giant alien doggy that lives in the trees."

"I'm sorry?" Alaxa said with a confused look on her face. "Ah forget it, we're fine." Ben shrugged.

"Perhaps we should go to my house, less idiots there." Alaxa said looking around.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's go." Gwen put her arms around the group to push them forward.

Minutes later they had arrived. "You mean we were that close to finding it?" Gwen spoke with exasperation in her voice. "Looks like." Ester responded, despite her lack of context.

The walls of Alaxa's home were seemingly made out of the surrounding plant life. "Ooh, cool. Using plant control to create a house? Awesome!" Ben exclaimed as he admired the detail work.

"No, that's just overgrowth from this morning." Alaxa shrugged offhandedly as she removed the overgrowth with a wave of her clawed hand. "Wait. This morning? That's the growth of one day?" Ester inquired.

"Yes, I've heard tell that on other planets plants grow much slower, even down to an inch an hour." Alaxa cheerily replied.

"And what, if you would be so kind, is the average rate of growth on this planet?" Rook inquired with a hint of alarm in his voice. "3 feet an hour. Why?" Alaxa responded. "Ship. Now." Gwen declared. "But we just got here, can't we stay a bit?" Ben whined. "Now." Gwen responded as she put her foot down. "Okay, okay." Ben responded, attempting to appease his cousin. "It was a pleasure to meet you." Ester politely bid Alpaca farewell.

"What's the big deal!" Ben asked after they were out of earshot of Alaxa. "The ship!" Gwen stated. "It's only been like two hours, tops! It can't be that bad yet." Ben replied. "Try 6 hours." Rook responded.

Ben looked at Ester, who silently nodded with a smile. It was then Ben realized how long the two of them had been alone together, making him blush. Gwen and Rook noticed Ben's face, then looked at each other with a knowing face.

"Ben, XLR8 please." Gwen asked. "I'll do my best." Ben replied as he began to sift through the omnitrix aliens. Ben slammed down the circular core back into the watch, transforming into Fasttrack. "Eh, close enough." Ben shrugged. Gwen attached to Ben with her mana, whilst Ester wrapped herself around his torso. Ben and the girls looked at Rook. "C'mon Rook, I'll give you a princess carry." Ben jested. "Ben, I am not a princess, nor do I have a need to be carried." Rook stated as he transformed the proto-tool and fired it at Ben. "What am I? A pack animal?" Ben asked as the proto-tool locked a grappling hook around him. "No, you are more of a ride animal." Rook smirked as he responded to Ben. "More like a cute puppy." Ester stated as she tightened herself around him, sensing that takeoff was imminent. And imminent it was. No sooner had she done so than he had taken off with the three of them in tow.

When they arrived at the ship, vines covered half the ship. Rook was the first to spot the abnormality however. "Ben, correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears as if our prisoner has escaped." Rook stated. "Maybe he just went out for a stroll." Ben suggested futilely. Rook started with "Ben, I highly doubt that..." before Rook finished, Gwen interrupted, "Rather than argue, let's just check and get this over with." Gwen said.

"Ben! I have very unfortunate news, Braga was RELEASED from the brig." Rook emphasized. "Which means we were boarded AND hacked?! I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he had friends in the area." Gwen predicted. "Or perhaps we had a stowaway." Rook guessed. At this point, the squeaky voice of Charmcaster proclaimed, "Finally! The seed I planted before I was trapped in here has finally produced a result! This is the beginning of your doom!" The four looked at each other in mild confusion, then looked at the bag that held Charmcaster. "What is the bag a prison for? Tiny insect aliens?" Ester inquired. "No, it's for magically inclined individuals." Gwen explained. "Not really, anything with mana can be made a totem." Charmcaster squeaked. "Correction, it was just a sensor glitch." Rook apologized.

"Damn it! Does nobody here dream?" "I do." Ben responded in an attempt to antagonize Charmcaster. "Great!" she squeaked cheerfully. "Just make sure to remember every detail! I'm not the little girl you used to beat up! I'm an all powerful magician!" "Sure, whatever" Ben replied while digging his finger in his ear. "Anyway, can we get back to the missing frog? Mr. Ribbits couldn't have gotten too far could he? After all, he must have left less than two hours ago based on the vines." Rook gave a surprised look while Gwen simply said, "I told you he has his moments."

"You spoke, but I did not believe." Rook stated glancing upward. "And...he is gone." Rook sighed as he saw Ester and XLR8 take off on the ship's monitor.


End file.
